The present invention is directed to preventing food products in contact with one another from adhering. The present invention is particularly concerned with preventing food products such as uncooked meats including bacon, hamburger patties, pork patties, steaks, and mutton; uncooked poultry including chicken, turkey, and duck; and uncooked seafood including fish (i.e., cod fish and halibut) from adhering.
Various food products are available both in refrigerated and frozen sections in groceries. However, many food products, when packaged in contact with each other without any barrier between them, tend to adhere. It is believed that during contact of one portion of a food product with another portion, such as a slice of bacon with another slice of bacon, the soft oils in the food product blend at contact points forming loose bonds. The oils congeal during refrigeration or freezing and resist forces applied in separating the food portions. Adherence between oils in the different food portions in many instances results in tearing of the food product when separated.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to prevent food products in general from adhering, and lose at most a minimum amount of water.
Another object of the present invention is to provide food products that when frozen do not adhere together and do not support mold growth.
One particular food product wherein adherence is a particularly acute problem is bacon. It has been noted that sales of packaged sliced bacon have increased during the last two decades only in proportion to the population growth. Sales growth for slices packaged bacon does not compare favorably with the sales growth of foods as meats, fish, and bakery products. Bacon sliced and in packages is available only in the refrigerated section and not in the frozen section. Some bacon slices are packaged stacked one slice against another slice under atmospheric conditions. Other bacon slices are packaged stacked one slice against another slice in an atmosphere of nitrogen. Both the nitrogen packed bacon and the atmospherically packaged bacon are sold refrigerated and are maintained refrigerated in households. Packaged bacon does not separate easily one slice from another slice and has limited quality shelf life.
The quantity of fat in bacon as well as the composition of the fat and its characteristics are major factors in the adherence of bacon slices. The quantity of fat is shown in Chart No. 1 below.
______________________________________ Water Protein Fat ______________________________________ Sliced bacon 19.3% 8.4% 69.3% ______________________________________ Values from Handbook No. 8 U.S.D.A. Page 8, Item 125.
The diet of hogs has a pronounced influence on the fatty acid composition of the fat. The softening point and the melting point of the bacon fat vary with its percentage of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. The bacon fat is more firm when the percentage of saturated fatty acids predominate and are less firm when the saturated acids are low and the unsaturated acids predominate. Chart No. 2 below shows the effect of diet on fat of hogs and particularly the composition and characteristics of composite body fat of hogs raised on different feeds.
______________________________________ Brewer's Corn rice with with Peanuts Soybeans Feed tankage tankage (grazed) (grazed) ______________________________________ Oil content of feed % 0.8 4.3 33.1 17.5 Iodine number of oil 100.0 126.0 93.0 128.0 Analysis of fat: Iodine number 54.7 60.8 89.6 93.2 Refractive index at 40.degree. C. 1.4585 1.490 1.4625 1.4630 Melting point, 0.degree. 37.3 39.1 19.4 26.0 Titer, 0.degree. 40.0 40.3 28.1 33.9 Saturated acids % 39.3 39.3 20.6 27.2 Oleic acid % 58.7 52.1 58.0 40.8 Linoleic acid % 2.0 8.6 21.4 32.0 ______________________________________ N. R. Ellis and H. S. Isbell, J. Biol. Chem. 69-219-248 (1926)
Variations in age of the animal has an influence on the fat characteristics. Chart No. 3 shows the influence of age on hogs raised on skim milk and corn.
______________________________________ Approxi- Approxi- mate mate weight of Fat I. No. Composition of age of animals Titer of Fatty Acids % animals (lb.) (.degree. C.) fat Satd. Oleic Linoleic ______________________________________ 6 weeks -- 37.0 72.5 33.2 54.5 12.3 10-12 weeks -- 37.5 71.0 31.4 54.8 13.8 5 months 70 37.8 66.1 36.9 51.4 11.7 6 months 100 37.9 63.2 37.3 53.9 8.8 7 months 170 39.2 59.7 38.4 54.3 7.3 8 months 225 39.1 58.8 38.6 54.4 7.3 ______________________________________ N. R. Ellis and O. G. Hankins, J. Biol. Chem. 66-101-122 (1925)
Variations in the fat make it difficult to prepare bacon slices made with the fat as a component part that will not adhere and will be flavorful.
Accordingly, another object of the present invention is to provide a method to prevent bacon slices from adhering during refrigeration or freezing when they are stacked one against the other without any non food barrier between them.
Another object of the present invention is to provide bacon slices that when frozen do not adhere together.
Another object of the present invention is to provide bacon slices that when frozen do not adhere together and do not support mold growth.
Another object of the present invention is to provide bacon slices that when frozen or refrigerated do not adhere together by employing a method that is economical to utilize and efficient to carry out.
This and other objects of this invention will become apparent from a reading of the following specification and claims.